I have been working hard at establishing a good routine before Elsa's nap over the last week or so, with every intention of dropping the pre-nap nursing session today, taking us down to a total of two sessions (one first thing in the morning, and one right before Elsa goes down for the night). Sadly, this did not work out as I had hoped. All other dropped sessions seemed to go nearly flawlessly -- even the last one, which she did not drop on her own.
After lunch, we went about our routine as normal. We picked out a few books and read them in the rocking chair in her room, lights dimmed. Then I closed the blinds, started her white noise, and sang and rocked her in the chair. This is when she usually starts nursing. And today, instead of just nestling against me and falling asleep as I had hoped, she cried. And fussed. And cried some more. I tried heating up some whole milk on the stove and putting it in a sippy cup, thinking it might act as some sort of replacement. Nope. She took a couple of sips, and then refused to drink another drop. And continued to be upset. I finally resorted to nursing her just because I needed to get her down so I could start on some work, and she fell asleep within minutes.
It's obvious she is nursing purely for comfort these days -- she's not getting much milk out of the deal. So I am currently at a loss. I guess I just need to do some more reading on the subject and see if I can come up with something other than just holding her sad, flailing body while trying to get her to calm down and go to sleep.
5 comments:
That broke my heart! :(
"They" say that nursing sessions before sleep are usually the hardest. I wonder if dropping the morning session first might be better for now? You might be able to get her into her morning meal or distract, distract, distract more easily.
Nursing for comfort has its benefits for baby and mama. But, if mama (or baby and not mama) wants to be done, it's hard on both parties.
You've done SO WELL, nursing her for over a year. I'm proud of you!
Yeah, I might have to try the morning session first. I was just thinking that the spacing might be easier on my body if I could nurse in the morning and then in the evening, but it's clear I can't have everything my way! :)
Ending nursing is bittersweet for me. In one way I am REALLY about ready to have my body back to myself and to do things like leave Elsa with my parents for a weekend so Jarrett and I can get away, but in another way I know I will feel like my baby is all grown up once it all ends.
I was hoping to have this pre-nap session cut out by the coming weekend because my parents are going to be in town, and my mom and I are going to get pedicures (a first for my mom and only the second time for me!) on Saturday right around the time of Elsa's nap, meaning Jarrett is going to have to put her down.
Oh well.
Thanks for the kind words. Nursing wasn't easy for me from the get-go (though it did definitely get easier), but I am SO glad I stuck with it.
Hi, this is Jamie, your former coworker. Sorry I've been out of touch. I've been meaning to call/email you for quite some time to get together. I just wanted to let you know that you're not alone. Joseph is still very attached to nursing asleep for naps and bedtime. I try to keep in mind that it won't last forever. They change and grow so fast!
I don't know if this will work with Elsa since every baby is different, but when I wanted to wean Coulson off of his sleep-associated nursings, I changed the routine a bit by nursing first, keeping him awake, then reading a book and singing a song. Then I gradually inserted other parts of our routine between the nursing and bedtime (putting on jammies, taking a bath, etc.) I also utilized the hubby to take over sometimes after the nursing so he would get used to variations in the routine. And then I was able to drop the nursing without him realizing it. It was a slow process and it probably didn't work perfectly every night, but I don't have any horrific memories of difficult weaning moments, so it must have been a relatively gentle process.
I really loved the nursing, but I also love being able to get away with my husband for a weekend. It's so good for the marriage. We've worn out our parents this past year with our own getaways, storing up some alone time before the next kid comes and re-focuses all our attentions and energies.
That's a fabulous idea, Val. I will definitely try that when it comes time.
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